Lesson 5
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SERIES: A World in a Week
LESSON 5: Genesis 1:3-5 “DAY – 1 – God And The Light”
1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
IN REVIEW
As you will recall, I believe that in Genesis chapter 1 and verse 2, something very unusual has taken place. “The Gap Theory” is what many understand to be that to which I am referring. There are those who believe, because of what took place in Genesis 1:2, we have an interminable period of time, a GAP that would allow the geological ages to take place.
I held that view for a number of years because I had not exercised the appropriate research, study, and prayer that I should. However, after prayer, repentance, and research, I have come to change my view of the matter. I personally do not believe that the geological ages are nearly as lengthy as some would have us believe today. On the contrary, in an examination of Genesis 1 and verse 2, I am persuaded in my own heart that what we have in this verse is indeed a chaos.
Isaiah 45:18 tells us specifically that God did not create the world as we find it in verse 2. Isaiah 45:18 says, “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.” Genesis 1:2 says, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep." Therefore, Isaiah 45:18 specifically teaches that God did not create the universe in the condition as we find it in that particular statement in verse 2.
I believe what we have here is the consequence of the fall of Satan. That may have taken one second. That may have taken one minute. That may have taken one hour. I have no idea, but I cannot believe it took millions or billions of years. The reason I believe what we find in chapter 1 and verse 2 is the consequence of Satan's fall is because sin always brings chaos and destruction. Wherever sin enters there is disarray, destruction, and damnation.
Dr. W. A. Criswell, the late pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, told a story once and said on an occasion he was speaking in a place near the city of Dallas. He was staying in a hotel on a beautiful lake. He said you could see across that lake and on the other side was this gorgeous, glorious mansion. He said he had never seen a mansion quite like that. He thought that surely it must have taken millions of dollars to be constructed. He said, as it happened, there were some workers who were staying in the hotel who were doing some finishing work on that mansion. They were embellishing and putting some of the final touches on the building. In the course of his conversation, he began to talk to them about how glorious and magnificent and bright was that beautiful mansion. The workers said to him, "Well, it's not at all what you might think it is. This building is a place of chaos, devastation, and damnation." Then they told Dr. Criswell the story. Very soon, after the multi-millionaire and his wife moved into the building he had a birthday party. Several of the elite of the state of Texas were there. Some of the richest people in the entire world had an invitation to the birthday party that night. In the course of that birthday party, at the climax of it, his wife presented to the millionaire a beautiful album. In that album were pictures of all of the mistresses and prostitutes and the whores with whom he had committed adultery through their married life. Then she announced her divorce to him. The workers said, "What you see there is not at all what it really is. That mansion is a habitation of devastation, despair, and damnation."
You read Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Then verse 2 says, “And the earth was (had become) without form, and void.” Here you find a picture of devastation. The fall of Satan made the earth a wilderness.
The earth is always a mirror of its inhabitants. Our gorgeous universe, as beautiful and marvelous as it is, exposes the results of the fall of Adam. You may recall in Romans 8, the Bible says that the whole creation itself is subject to vanity because of the fall of Adam. When devastation came to earth, God began to rework, remake, and restore in these days of creation. That is what God always does. In Jeremiah 18, there is the picture of the potter who has the clay in his hands and he is making a vessel on the wheel. The clay is marred in the hands of the potter. Therefore, he begins to make it and mold it again.
The same thing is true when God begins to remake a human soul that is lost without Christ or a sin-marred life that has fallen back into sin. In either condition, I am talking about a beautiful, precious life, made in the image of God, yet marred by sin. Our loving God begins to remake and remold that life. 2nd Corinthians 4:6 says, “God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts.” God, by His marvelous work of salvation, remakes us into new creatures and then molds us into what He intends for us to be. Is that not the most wonderful good news you could ever hear? That is what He did in verse 2 after He created the heavens and the earth and that is what He does when He creates us anew from our lost condition and when He restores us after we become marred by sin. I think that is what we really have as we move through these days of creation.
Verse 5 says, “And the evening and the morning were the first day.
(Q) When the Bible talks about these days of creation, what do those days mean?
(Q) What was the length of those days?
(Q) How smart is God? How quickly do you think He can create something?
(Q) Can you think of anything that would limit God in Creation?
(Q) Could God have created everything He created in one day if He wanted?
(Q) If God did not create the world in six days, why do you suppose it would it would take Him millions of years to create it? (Or) Why do you think some believe it took millions of years?
(Q) How long does it take God to save a lost soul?
(Q) Is there anything to difficult for God to do?
(Q) How big is God?
(Q) Which do you believe is the most dependable, science theory or Biblical facts?
(Q) What is the difference between “Faith” and “Foolishness”?
(Q) What is the difference between “Faith” and “Fiction”?
Now that your mind has been stirred like a bee’s nest we are ready to look into this wonderful lesson!
You may want to come back and rethink some of your answers later.
INTRODUCTION
The Hebrew word for “day” is the word, “YOM.” It occurs many, many times in the Bible. We also find the word “day” used in other different ways. Sometimes the word, “day” refers to an indefinite period. In the second chapter of Genesis, when we come to the climax of the creation account it says in verse 4 “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day (not DAYS) that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.” Therefore, the whole creation period is called in that verse “the day” – an indefinite period” Sometimes the word, “day,” is used as it is used in verse 5 of this chapter. Verse 5 says, "
“And God called the light day.” There the word, “day,” refers to a daylight period of a twenty-four hour day. That period of the day when there is light is sometimes called day. The word, “day,” may refer to an indefinite period of time. The word “day,” may refer to a twenty-four hour day. On the other hand, the word “day,” may refer to the daylight time in a twenty-four hour day.
I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW RIGHT UP FRONT WHERE I AM COMING FROM. I personally believe that the days of creation were six days, each one being twenty-four hours in length. I believe that the Bible actually teaches that God created the heavens and the earth. I believe that God created everything as we see it in literally six twenty-four hour days.
I KNOW IMMEDIATELY THERE IS SOME OBJECTION BY SOME TO MY VIEW, MY BELIEF, AND MY BIBLICAL CONVICTION. There are some, who will say, "Pastor, that is impossible. It was not until the 4th day that God created the sun. How can you have day and night without the sun?" If you want to get technical about the matter, I can prove to you that day and night are not determined by the sun. The rotation of the earth one time on its axis is what determines a day and a night. When we go to Alaska we know that there are times when they may go for days without any daylight. Even though there is no light from the sun, there is the rotation of the earth on its axis so there is a day in time. After this point of proof if you remain disagreeable, I forgive you, but I will continue with my mind and heart unchanged.
HOWEVER, I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT WHY I BELIEVE THESE DAYS ARE LITERAL DAYS. The first thing I want to mention is this. Could God do it in twenty-four days? Is it possible for God to do that? Again, verse 1 says, "In the beginning God created." If you believe in the kind of God who has the power to create the universe, surely you are not going to have any problem believing God could create this world in six twenty-four hour days. In fact, if the Bible had said God did it six seconds, it would be just as easy for God to create the world in six seconds as in six twenty-four hour days. It all falls back on the possibility of God. How big is our God?
INTERPRETATION
I AM INTERESTED IN WHAT THE BIBLE ACTUALLY TEACHES. Does the Bible itself actually teach that God created the heavens and the earth, the world in twenty-four hour days? According to Hebrew scholars, when you read these verses of Scripture as they were literally written in the original Hebrew manuscripts, that is exactly what it seems to be saying. Even the average, clueless, person just picking up this chapter and reading it and reading these different creative acts on these days, the natural, normal interpretation would it not be that these are twenty-four hour days? There are other verses in the Bible, which indicate that this is the case as well. Exodus 20:11 says, "For in six days the Lord made heaven and the earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day." Consequently, other verses in the Bible specifically teach that God created the world in six days.
THERE WAS A MAN NAMED ARTHUR C. CUSTANCE. I know most of you have never heard of him. You can look him up on Google and find some of His writings. He was a Canadian anthropologist, scientist and an outstanding author specializing on science and Christianity. He was born in 1910 in Norfolk, United Kingdom and moved to Canada in 1928. He was educated at the University of Toronto. During his lifetime, he wrote many books that explored the relationship between Science and Scripture while remaining faithful to the established facts of science and the revealed truths of Scripture. He was scientifically sound and Biblically based in all of his wonderful writings. Before his death in 1985 at the age of 75, he sent a question to nine Hebrew scholars at nine of the leading universities of the world and asked them what the Hebrew word, “YOM,” the word (day) in English found in Genesis 1 was intended to convey. Seven out of the nine Hebrew scholars replied that the word “YOM” conveyed “a twenty-four hour day.” That is the normal, natural reading of these verses.
In this section of the study, dealing with the “period of time” for creation, there are two other matters I want you to think about.
ONE IS THE USE OF NUMERIC WORDS WITH THE WORD, “DAY.” 1- In verse 5 it says, "And the first day." 2- In verse 8 says, "And the second day." 4- In verse 13 says, "And the third day." 5- In verse 19 says, "And the fourth day." 6- In verse 23 says, "And the fifth day." 7- In verse 31 says, "And the sixth day." Do you see that? First, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. Those are what we call numeric words. Every time, in the Hebrew language, when the word, “day,” is accompanied by a numeric word it always refers to a twenty-four hour day.
SECOND IS THE REPETITION OF THE WORDS, EVENING AND MORNING. 1- Verse 5 says, "And the evening and the morning were the first day." When the Jews used that terminology, “evening and morning” they were always referring to a twenty-four hour day. Evening and morning = “a day.” Evening and morning = “a day.”
I BELIEVE THESE VERSES ARE TEACHING THAT GOD CREATED THE WORLD IN A WEEK. In six twenty-four hour days, God did it. There are some difficulties if you believe something else. Does 2nd Peter 3:8 not teach that to God “A day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day”? That means that time does not affect God. God is the eternal God. God sees everything in the eternal now. Nevertheless, if you believe that each day represents time in long periods, then it will create some difficulties for you.
I WAS IN HORTICULTURE FOR YEARS AND I KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT HOW PLANTS GROW AND WHAT THEY NEED TO SURVIVE. For instance, on day three we the Bible tells us about the creation of plant life. On day four, the Bible tells us about the creation of the sun. If that was an indeterminate period, we know that plants cannot live without the sun. The whole process of photosynthesis is essential to the life of a plant. You also notice that on the sixth day God created the animals. If there had been an indeterminate period, if there were eons and eons, and millions and billions of years between the creation of plant life and animal life, then it would be impossible for both of them to exist. Plant life and animal life depend upon one another. Plants evoke oxygen and they take in carbon dioxide. On the other hand, animals evoke carbon dioxide and take in oxygen. However, if there had been no plants then the animals could not live. If there had been no animals the plants could not live. The difficulties are insurmountable. It seems very clear, according to these verses of Scripture, that we have a revelation of God creating a world in six twenty-four hour days.
I WANT YOU TO FOLLOW THIS BECAUSE THIS IS SO EXCITING. When you follow this creative steps through the first chapter of Genesis there are thirteen steps. I have read facts from those who are scientifically inclined, that these thirteen steps found in Genesis 1 are exactly what they find in the creative world. These thirteen steps in this order are exactly what took place.
THINK ABOUT WHAT THE PERCENTAGES ARE OF THOSE 13 STEPS TAKING PLACE IN THE EXACT ORDER. The evolutionist says it just all came about by chance. They say that it is a colossal accident. Have you ever thought about what the odds are that those thirteen steps of the creative process could have taken place in exactly the right order? I have read that the chances of that happening are 1 in 31 sextillions. A “sextillion” is a 1 with 21 zeroes after it. Here is the way it would look, (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) If you took 8 printing presses and each of those printing presses printed 8,000 tickets every minute for 5,000 years, you would print 31 sextillion tickets. Your chances of picking a winning ticket out of all of those tickets are 1 in 31 sextillions. When you read the creation account, and you read what God has to say about it, all of it is there in exactly the correct order.
EXPLANATION
The Bible tells us that on this first day God brought into existence light.
I. THIS WAS A DAY OF REVELATION. In verse 3 “And God said,” God spoke. Ten times, in the creation account, it says, “God said.” These might be referred to as “God's Ten Commandments Of Creation.” Not one of them has ever been violated. God also gave His Ten Commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai and not one of them has ever been kept. Nevertheless, all of these are unviable. They are the laws of God's natures.
GOD IS THE ORIGINATOR OF LIGHT. In verse 3 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” This tells us something about light. This tells us about the originator of light. It is God who said let there be light. Literally the Hebrew reads this way. "And God said, exist light, and light existed." God spoke it and light came into existence. How do you have light without the sun? The sun wasn't created until the fourth day. Yet, here we are told there was light. Of course, now we know that you can have light without sun. We know now about cosmic radiation. Cosmic light exists in the universe. I am talking about radioactive light. We know about Aurora Borealis, the Great Northern light, that magnificent display of light in the universe which is apart from the sun.
We find light in other ways without the sun. When you were little did you ever do what I did in the hot summer time? Did you ever get a jar and go out in the yard and begin to catch those little bugs known as “lightning bugs”? I would try to fill my jar up with those lightning bugs and their tails would glow and give out light. Sometimes I would slip that jar full of those things and put them under my bed at night. In the middle of the night I would get them out and just watch them in amazement as their tails were glowing. Let the scientists explain the lightning bug. What makes the tail of the lightning bug light? Light without the sun. They are not like the “Energizer Bunny” that just keeps on going and going and going.
We know the originator of light. God says in 1st John 1:9, "God is light and in him is no darkness at all.” 1st Timothy 6:16 says that “God dwells in the light which is inapproachable.” Psalm 104:2 says that “God covers himself with a garment of light.” There was light in the universe because God is the originator of light. You don't have to have the sun to have light. One of these days we are going to heaven and the Bible says in heaven there is not going to be any sun because the Lamb of God is going to be light. He is the originator of light.
GOD IS THE AUTHOR OF LIGHT. James 1:17 says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights, with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning." Daniel 2:22 says, "He knows what is in the darkness and the light dwelleth with him.” Isaiah 45:7 says, "I formed the light and create darkness.” Therefore, when God said let there be light, there WAS light. He was the originator of light. He was the author of light. Light dwells with Him.
The Hebrew word for light is transliterated, “ORE.” That means light substances itself. When you come to the 14th verse and it talks about the lights in the firmament, there is a different Hebrew word there that means luminaries or lamp stands.
There was an old man who told of a memory when he was a boy. He was out with his father on an occasion. In those days where he grew up they had lamplighters who would go along and light the lamps along the streets. He said, as a little boy, one evening he saw that lamplighter lighting the lights. He said, "Look, dad, there's a man who is punching holes in the darkness." “In the beginning… darkness was upon the face of the deep.” Then there was a moment of revelation. “God said let there be light” and God flooded this universe with marvelous, wonderful light.
GOD IS ALSO THE AUTHOR OF SPIRITUAL LIGHT. If you have light in your heart and life it is because one day you were in the darkness of your sins and God said let the light shine. The light came on in your heart and life. You and I are to be light bearers. We are to send out the light. "Let your light so shine before men." Shine as lights in this world.
The Bible tells us that on this first day God brought into existence light.
I. THIS WAS A DAY OF REVELATION.
II. THIS WAS A DAY OF ILLUMINATION. Verse 3 says, "And God said let there be light”. “Exist light!” “And there was light.” God filled and flooded His universe with light. What is light? Think about the mystery of light. As I was preparing this Bible Study I said to myself that if I'm going to write and teach about light at least I need to know what it is. When I normally want to know the definition of a word I go to the Dictionary, a type of Encyclopedia, or some kind of word study – all depending upon the word. With this word light I said I'll find some help, so I got out my Webster's Dictionary and I opened it up and looked for light. Here's what it said. "Light is that which makes vision possible." That's a real help, isn't it?
WHAT IS LIGHT? It is much easier for us to describe what light does instead of what light is. It is a mystery. Honest people admit the mystery of light. It's hard to define light. It has some characteristics of a solid, of a dust like particle. Yet, it seems to have no weight. It has the characteristics of waves. It seems to move in waves in energy packed compartments that we call “photons.” Yet, when light seems to move, there is energy moved from one place to another, but there is no matter that is moved from one place to another. In the book of Job there is a fascinating verse. In chapter 38:19 it says, "Where is the way where light dwells?" The Hebrew word, “way”, there means the trodden path. The recognition that light moves. Light moves in a straight line. It appears to be a solid and yet it is not.
I heard about two nitwits and one of them had a flashlight. He turned the flashlight on and beamed it up to a second floor window. He said to the other nitwit, "Why don't you just climb up that light beam and get in that window?" The other nitwit thought for a moment and said, "I ain't going to do that. I would get half-way up that light beam and you would turn the light off."
We don't understand “light”. “Light” is a mystery. “Light” moves and yet it is unaffected by time. The reason “light” is not affected by time is that God is “light” and God is eternal and the eternal is not affected by time. [Let me give you a mind bender.] At best, we know that light travels at the speed of 186,000 miles per second. Distance does not change the way light travels. However, here is something to ponder. If you got in a space ship and went to a distant star, time would be calculated in a different manner there than it is calculated here on earth. If you had a twin down here on this earth, by the time you got back down to this earth from the star that was the longest distance away, your twin on the earth would be older than you are after having been in space. Yet, light moves with a constant speed. Chew on that one for a while, and you smart people research and prove to me that I am mathematically incorrect! There are those who believe, and this is an ongoing and rather new discussion, that there has been a slowing down of light through the ages. If that is true that would affect geological dating. If that is true the earth may indeed be younger than some people imagine.
WHERE DID LIGHT COME FROM? WHERE DID LIFE COME FROM? We ask the evolutionist and the evolutionist say, "Once upon a time there was a pool of green slime. Into that pool of green slime, a flash of lightning came and a little amino acid was formed. That little amino acid made its way upon the shore. It evolved and that is how life came into existence." If you ask them where the light came from they do not have a clue. I am not a scientist. I am a Baptist Pastor and Preacher yet I know the answer. However, more and more scientists are questioning some of the so-called facts of evolution. Of course, what they will do is just change the definition of the words. They will equate a theory and a fact. They will say a theory is a fact. No, a theory is not a fact. A fact is a fact and a theory is a theory. There is a difference between the two.
WHERE DID LIGHT COME FROM? We have no explanation except the Bible says that God said, "Exist light”. When God gave that command, light existed. Light can be bent. Light can be twisted. Yet, light will bounce off a polished surface. Light will go through a solid surface like glass. Its nature will not be changed. It will not be slowed down in any way. It will go through that glass, yet it won't make a hole in that glass and the glass will not be harmed in any way. That is light.
THIS FIRST DAY WAS A DAY OF REVELATION. GOD SAID, THIS FIRST DAY WAS A DAY OF ILLUMINATION. God said “exist light” and light existed. That is exactly what happens when God speaks to a darkened human soul. Do you remember the blind man who was healed by Jesus? They asked the blind man after Jesus healed him, “Who is this man that did this to you?” The once blind man said, “I don't know who the man is, but this one thing I know. I was blind and now I can see.” If you can give testimony to the fact that once you were in the blindness and darkness of sin, but now because of Jesus you can see, you have a wonderful testimony.
The Bible tells us that on this first day God brought into existence light.
III. THIS WAS A DAY OF SEPARATION. Verses 4 and 5 say, "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." THIS IS THE PRINCIPLE OF SEPARATION. There are about three basic times in this account where it says that God divided or separated. It is a principle you will find all through the Bible. God always separates the darkness from the light.
When the children of Israel were down in the bondage of Egypt, God sent a thick darkness upon the land of Egypt. Yet, the Bible says that the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. God made a separation between Egypt and Israel. If you will study all through the Word of God you will find that God's process is to always bring light out of darkness. THAT IS WHAT SALVATION IS ALL ABOUT. In 1st Peter 2 it says that “He called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” IT IS THE WHOLE PROCESS OF SANCTIFICATION. Ephesians 5:8 says, "For you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord.” IT IS THE PROMISE OF OUR FUTURE GLORIFICATION. Colossians 1:12 says that “we are fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” One of these days we are not going into a place called hell, which is the place of outer darkness. We are going to a wonderful place called heaven where there will be life forevermore.
APPLICATION
Separation, between night and day, between evening and morning. That is always God's process. God always moves from the darkness to the light. That is why I want to speak a word of encouragement to you who may have a heavy heart. You may be going through some dark days in your life right now. I want you to pay close attention to me. Psalm 30: 5 makes you this promise, "WEEPING MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT, BUT JOY COMES IN THE MORNING." You may be going through the darkness. It may be evening in your life right now. You remain faithful to keep looking up and just keep holding on to the promises of God. One of these days God says you are going to have the light. Jesus went through the darkness of Gethsemane and Golgotha, but just ahead there was the brightness of an empty grave and an everlasting glory. I don't know what you are going through, but in just a little while it will be daylight!
INVITATION
Psalm 27:1 says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation." Can you say that? Just as God said let there be light, He can speak to your heart, and the light of Jesus will come flooding into your soul.
To find more help in receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior please go to the Bible Study Title Page “ETERNAL LIFE”. Please send me an email and respond to me about any decision for Christ you make so that I may pray for you. Feel free to send me any questions, comments, or responses you may have as well. For those who are already Christians I invite you to also please let me know of any decision you make in your Christian life and feel free to send me any questions, comments, or responses you may have to rfdenning1951@gmail.com
ALWAYS REMEMBER!
The support of your local Church ministry and the ministry of your Pastor should be the first priority of your Christian life and your service to the Lord. Be faithful to attend Sunday School and Worship Service this Sunday and participate in worship as your Pastor preaches the Word. Do not forget to give the Lord at least your TITHE through your local church from your gross income – that is your first fruits. Honor the Lord in all you do and with all that you have. Always remember that everything you have and all you are belongs to the Lord. It is on loan to you – so manage it well! There will be an audit one day! Make sure the Books Balance!